The New England Patriots drafted Jimmy Garoppolo in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He wasn’t supposed to take over Tom Brady, at least for the foreseeable future; but looked to be a serviceable backup.
The years went by, Jimmy stepped up when Brady was out and some started seeing him differently. Perhaps, Bill Belichick was getting him ready to become a franchise quarterback, maybe he was more than just a backup.
Garoppolo eventually made his way to the San Francisco 49ers and once again, his path could’ve crossed with Brady. Apparently, the seven-time Super Bowl champion wanted to play in San Francisco for the team he grew up rooting for, but the Niners weren’t so sure about that.
Report: 49ers Turned Down Brady Because Of Garoppolo
(Transcript via Yahoo! Sports)
“Brady informed Welker, San Francisco’s wide receivers coach, if the 49ers were interested, he would finish his career in the Bay Area after 20 seasons and six Super Bowl titles with the New England Patriots.
According to the book, Brady wrote down 20 or so elements he desired from his new team. His contract demand was considered reasonable: Two years, $50 million.
Brady informed Welker that if the 49ers wanted him, there would be “no free-agency tour, no bidding war, full stop; he would end his career where his love of football began, in scarlet and gold, allowing his parents to drive to (his) games for the first time since the 1990s,” according to the book.
(…) But Shanahan asked each of his offensive assistant coaches to watch all of Brady’s pass attempts from the 2019 season and provide their evaluations, Wickersham reports. Shanahan did the same while on vacation with his family in Cabo San Lucas.
According to the book, the 49ers coaches merely liked Brady’s film and concluded that Brady was only marginally better than Garoppolo at that stage of both men’s careers.”
Brady threw shade to an unnamed quarterback in the offseason, claiming that he wanted to play for a certain team and that they chose “that motherf—r” over him. Now, it seems like it’s clear who he was talking about.
The most ironic part about this story is that Belichick allegedly tried to trade Brady instead of Garoppolo, which was one of the breaking points in their relationship. Fast-forward to today and Tom has another ring on his finger, and Jimmy G may not even be with the team next year.